1. Felicity Richards and Alexis Selman
‘helping rebuild our community’
community’
PRIMARY SCHOOL
READING AND LANGUAGE ARTS WORKSHOP
BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE
A proposal was made to the principal of a neighborhood primary school to run a reading workshop at
the school during the August vacation. This initiative was a direct response to noticing in the newspaper
that the students had not performed well in securing passes at the recently held SEA examinations (high
school entrance examination).
The principal readily supported the initiative, agreed to a three week period for the workshop starting
August 9th , to select the students and confirm their attendance with their parents. She provided the
reading curriculum which was used in conjunction with other reading strategies to draft the workshop
program. Eight girls and fourteen (14) boys the majority of whom were between 10 and 11 years of age
were the core of the workshop with minor upward and downward shifts in numbers during the period.
Admittedly, dealing with twenty seven children appeared somewhat daunting for two tutors as we
intended to provide individual attention. However before the workshop started we secured the able
assistance of two young ladies with similar workshop experience and their volunteering made it possible
to accommodate all the children.
This workshop was our community outreach to help children become better readers , while at the same
time ensuring that learning could be fun. It was hoped that the experience would have lasting impact
including instilling a sense of accomplishment, raising self esteem, changing their attitudes towards
learning and the intrinsic value of education. Further it was hoped that the workshop would positively
impact their future as well as that of their communities.
WORKSHOP STRATEGIES
The teaching style used combined exercises, activities and games to attract and retain the interest and
attention of the children as for many the classroom was synonymous with frustration and
bewilderment. Our strategies included the use of alphabet sequencing activities, ‘picture’ activity cards
(which were soon phased out and replaced with ‘word’ activity cards, word searches , crossword
puzzles, word jumbles , puzzles, spelling games, dictations, free writing, baking, and the screening of a
movie, followed by discussion. All of these activities were enthusiastically received by the students who
began to anticipate them.
‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste’

2. Felicity Richards & Alexis Selman ‘helping re-build our community ‘
WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES
Phonics
Students were introduced daily to the phonic alphabet using flash cards and then having them illustrate
the clue words used to reinforce the letter sounds on the backs of the cards they were given. Some of
their illustrations unearthed artistic talents which it is hoped the children would be encouraged to
develop.
Illustrating Phonic Cards
Word Searches & Puzzles
The children especially looked forward to working through the word search exercises which had themes
such as school, professions, neighbourhood, grocery, country, beach, zoo, community and family.
Helping students with Word Search
‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste’

3. Felicity Richards & Alexis Selman ‘helping re-build our community ‘
Dictation
An important element of the daily routine was ‘dictation’ which was used to extend memory -
recognition, spelling, pronunciation of new words encountered in prior activities done.
Writing and Checking Spelling
Sometimes challenges arose when a child or children became frustrated at being unable to keep pace
with children who grasped new teaching points more quickly than they did. Once the situation of
different learning styles was recognized the tutors responded by giving these children their own ‘safe
space’ in which to work on the same exercise.
Later, when they had completed their exercise at a more comfortable pace, they were encouraged to
rejoin the larger group. Below are the two groups writing their dictation.
.
‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste’

4. Felicity Richards & Alexis Selman ‘helping re-build our community ‘
Free writing
An important objective of the workshop was giving he children individual attention to help them
develop and express their ideas and to work through the various exercises. They responded well to this
strategy eventually overcoming the initial ‘fear of failure’ and in its place showing ‘determination ‘and
even ‘triumph’ as they began to realize their own capabilities.
Giving Individual Attention
In order to keep the children motivated and maintain their interest throughout the workshop, we
introduced a variety of reading related activities including rhyming, sequencing and syllable division
games . One such high interest sequencing and reading activity was baking muffins. The class was
divided into groups and each received a different section of the recipe – ingredients, utensils, etc. They
had to read and sequence the instructions in order to start the preparations to bake the muffins, which
they were able to share amongst themselves at the end of the exercise.
Baking Day
On the last day of the workshop the children were treated to the screening of the film “Akeelah and the
Spelling Bee” after which the principal led them in a discussion of the film.
‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste’

5. Felicity Richards & Alexis Selman ‘helping re-build our community ‘
Included in our final day activities was the spelling bee championship. This was a keenly contested event
by each of the three teams whose embers were ‘fired up’ after just having viewed the film.
Spelling Bee Championship Competition Winning Team with the principal
As a workshop finale the children were treated to a special lunch after which the presentation of
certificates of attendance and special prizes were awarded. Below are some of the special prize
awardees.
Outstanding Performers Most Improved
‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste’

6. Felicity Richards & Alexis Selman ‘helping re-build our community ‘
Every day the children were treated to lunch of a sandwich and a cold drink which was heartily received.
On Fridays we were able to exchange the sandwich for a hot meal. Some of the children were served
breakfasts starting from week two.
Getting Lunch Ready
WORKSHOP OUTCOME
At the end of the workshop the tutors were very gratified by the perceptible changes in the majority of
the children. A few were visibly upset that it was coming to a close. For many of these form four and five
students, being able to break up a word into syllables then pronounce it was a new’ experience which
they told us about. There was a creeping pride in ‘getting it right’ as evidenced by children remaining in
the classroom to complete an exercise they were working on instead of rushing out on he playground
for recess. This was a completely new attitude compared to the workshop start when they were asking
and clock watching for the next recess.
At times these children challenged us to provide them with greater levels of difficulty in the exercises
they were given. Among our most memorable and interesting turn of events was having a boy who
after grasping the syllable division rule asked us for more such exercises to do at home. This was a
welcome surprise as initially he had often resisted doing any of the exercises while remarking ‘miss I
can’t do that’ almost robotically when asked to open his copybook.
Students with Their Tutor
‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste’

7. Felicity Richards & Alexis Selman ‘helping re-build our community ‘
THE WAY FORWARD
Daily we are bombarded with negative images and tales of children failing in schools and gravitating
towards antisocial behavior, including criminal activity. This short intervention told us another story.
We discovered that when children are exposed to the appropriate learning environment, given the right
stimuli and encouragement, and understand that they are expected to perform at higher than their
current levels, they begin to believe in themselves and expand their horizons and recognize that their
“number one job is to succeed in school”1
The principal has asked us to continue working with these children and are continue from October 4th
with a batch of 21 children – including a few new children - and looking forward to building on their
earlier successes , and helping them move towards a brighter, more productive future. We anticipate
expanding our program to include mentorship and seeing it replicated in other communities. In order to
do so, we look forward to the continued support from corporate and individual citizens.
All the items used in the workshop including pencils, pens, copybooks, crayons, markers, wooden
alphabet sets, prizes and the meals provided to the students were made possible from donations. We
thank all our sponsors for their generous contributions that helped to make this workshop a success and
look forward to their continued support in continuing our work.
Our gratitude is extended to our associates:-
Chioma James
Monique Bunyan
Karen Todd
who so generously and willingly contributed time, energy and ideas, and provided tremendous support
and assistance throughout the workshop.
This workshop would not have been possible without the receptivity and enthusiastic support received
from the principal from inception to closing. We therefore extend a special thank her for the care,
concern and nurturing spirit that was given to the students and for her helpfulness and willingness to
entertain the initiative.
Felicity Richards & Alexis Selman
September 1st 2010
1
President Barack Obama – Ebony Magazine – September 2010.
‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste’